Succeeding and Thriving in the MSU Tenure System - PowerPoint Presentation

1. Succeeding and Thriving in the MSU Tenure SystemThe Process and Some Key Points to Remember Suzanne Lang Interim Associate Provost and Associate Vice President Academic Human Resources

2. The MSU Philosophy

3. The Annual Memorandum on “Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure”

4. Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure At MSU, faculty are expected to be both active scholars and student-focused educators, demonstrating substantial scholarship and ability to promote learning through our on-campus and off-campus education and research programs.MSU is committed to improve continuously. To do so means vigorous, effective recruitment and selection of new faculty who are encouraged and helped to grow professionally, through mentoring and development. These new faculty members are evaluated by demanding standards and required procedures for reappointment, tenure, and promotion recommendations. Our expectation is that they will thrive at MSU, as well as in the changing national and international landscape.

5. Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure (slide 2)Our policies, procedures, criteria, and decisions on recruitment, reappointment, award of tenure, promotions, and salary changes must be guided by the goal of enhancing academic excellence, taking into account the mission and goals of the department, school, college, and University, including the MSU commitment to diversity and inclusion. Departments/schools and colleges are required to review regularly their standards, criteria, and procedures to this end. These personnel decisions, in large measure, will determine MSU’s reputation and prominence for many years to come. 

6. Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure (slide 3)Faculty must be both active scholars and student-focused educators and must meet academic standards that assure enhanced quality of the unit for years to come. Individual personnel actions recommending tenure should result in the continuing excellence of the academic unit(s) as a whole and MSU more broadly. For example, anyone considered for tenure should meet or exceed the requirements of the unit for tenure and be in the top echelon of peers at a similar career stage nationally or internationally in the field or discipline. The achievement and performance level required must be competitive with faculties of leading research-intensive, land-grant universities of international scope. (comparison is important)

7. Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure (slide 4)Assessment should take into account the quality of outcomes as well as their quantity; it should also acknowledge the creativity of faculty effort and its impact on students, on others the University serves, and on the field(s) in which the faculty member works. In many cases, faculty demonstrate excellence through individual scholarly activities. Collaborative scholarly efforts, cross-disciplinary activities, and the integration of scholarship into the creation, application, and dissemination of knowledge are also recognized as relevant dimensions of faculty performance.

8. Evaluation & Impact of COVIDCOVID Impact statement - The purpose is to acknowledge that faculty and academic staff (FAS) at MSU have encountered varied challenges due to the pandemic. Guidelines for FAS on writing a COVID-19 impact statement that may be submitted to their unit administrator as part of their activity report for annual review, and to internal and external reviewers upon promotion appointment assessments.Prompts for considering what to include in the impact statement.

9. How to Use a COVID Impact StatementBroad discussions within disciplines and academic units need to be facilitated to explore how the discipline(s) has been impacted by the pandemic and what opportunities for program growth and scholarship were not possible to inform the context of how to judge accomplishments.The impact statement provided by a FAS member is accepted as valid because they are a trusted member of the scholarly community.Each impact statement is equally valued .

10. How to Use a COVID Impact Statement (1 of 2)Impact of the pandemic may be accelerating as well as decelerating and may change over time.Under such extraordinary times, the work that is produced can still be evaluated based on quality and relevance to increasing knowledge and understanding rather than on quantity of work. Assessments about annual reviews, reappointment, and promotion must be made on the information provided by the FAS member. While a COVID impact statement is not required, impact that is not documented cannot be considered in assessments.

11. How to Use a COVID Impact Statement2 of 2Value-based categories like sharing information, expanding opportunities of others, and mentoring/stewardship may be applied to activity reports and impact statements to allow FAS to share the multiple ways learning, teaching, and knowing have occurred to indicate how FAS have been doing valuable, adaptive, human-based work in other new and perhaps non-traditional ways.

12. Key PoliciesThe norm – One 4 year and one 3 year probationary appointment for assistant professorsAssociate professors may be hired with one probationary appointment, usually 2-4 years.Starting date of the “tenure clock” is August 16, regardless of when during the calendar year the appointment is effective.

13. THE REVIEW PROCESS

14. THE REVIEW PROCESS (Continued)

15. For the Health Colleges – CHM, COM, CONWith the creation of the position of Executive Vice President for Health Sciences, and the change in the reporting relationship of the human health colleges to the EVP:Deans will make recommendations to the Provost and EVPEVP will meet with dean and provost representativesProvost and EVP will confer and make joint recommendations for reappointment, promotion, and tenure

16. Key Policies (slide 2)“A recommendation for promotion from assistant professor to associate professor in the tenure system should be based on several years of sustained, outstanding achievements in education and scholarship across the mission, consistent with performance levels expected for promotion to associate professor at  peer universities.  A reasonably long period in rank before promotion is usually necessary to provide a basis in actual performance for predicting capacity to become an expert of national stature and long-term, high-quality professional achievement.”

17. Key Policies (slide 3)Extending the Tenure ClockThe tenure system probationary appointment for the next reappointment/promotion/tenure review is extended automatically for one year for the following reasons:Leaves of absence with or without pay that are one semester to twelve months. Changes in appointment to 50% time or less for one year. An extension recommended as an outcome of a hearing and/or appeal conducted pursuant to the Faculty Grievance Policy.

18. Key Policies (slide 4)Extending the Tenure Clock (cont’d) The tenure system probationary appointment for the next reappointment/promotion/tenure review is extended automatically upon faculty request for one year for the birth or adoption of a child.Extensions for this reason are limited to two separate one-year extensions during the entire probationary period. The request for an automatic one-year extension for the birth or adoption of a child must be submitted within two years of the birth/adoption, but no later than the due date for the submission to the department/school of the dossier for the next reappointment/promotion/tenure review.

19. Key Policies (slide 5)Additional extensions of the probationary appointment may be requested from the University Committee on Faculty Tenure (UCFT)  for reasons related to:childbirth, adoption, the care of an ill and/or disabled child, spouse, or parent;  personal illness; to receive prestigious awards, fellowships, and/or special assignment opportunities; orother such serious constraints.

20. Key Policies (slide 6)Blanket COVID Extension Any faculty member currently in the tenure system (as of Spring 2020) and scheduled for a reappointment or tenure review beginning in academic year 2020-2021 or beyond receives the automatic one-year extension.The one-year automatic extension does not apply to the probationary period of those who were reviewed in the 2019-2020 academic year. However, assuming a successful reappointment, the automatic extension will be automatically applied to this cohort’s second probationary period. https://hr.msu.edu/ua/promotion/faculty-academic-staff/coronavirus-tenure-clock-faqs.html

21. COVID ExtensionWhat will be said to internal and external reviewers?In 2020, MSU granted all pre-tenure faculty an automatic one-year extension in the tenure clock because of the impact on scholarly productivity caused by adjustments to COVID-19. The extra time provided by this extension should not in any way be viewed harmful to the faculty candidate. As with other extensions granted under this policy, it should not lead to an expectation that “more should have been accomplished” by the faculty member given the extra year in the probationary appointment.

22. Key Policies (slide 7)Note:  Receipt of an automatic extension for any of the reasons above does not preclude consideration for reappointment or promotion with tenure at the normal time.  However, if the extension for the first probationary appointment is waived by the faculty member, the extension does not carry over to the second probationary appointment.  In addition, a faculty member is bound to the outcome of the reappointment review if unsuccessful.

23. Key Policies (slide 8)Criteria and procedures must be examined locally.Get copies of standards, procedures, etc.Review college and/or unit mentoring policyReview your letter of appointmentJoint appointmentsReview Multiple Appointment MemorandumAnnual performance reviewsConferring with peer advisory committee before a recommendation is forwardedPoints of Distinction provides a framework for outreach

24. Key Policies (slide 9)Evaluation of teaching, research/creative activities, and serviceExternal letters of referenceCollege-level committeeRole of central administrationForm DReflective Essay

25. Rule #1

26. Thank you. Please visit the resource webpage of the Academic Advancement Network website at: http://bit.ly/ThrivingInTheTenureSystem